PUNE: Ajit Pawar was among the rare netas who draw deep respect and are slightly feared by the people. They may not be adored easily and automatically, but once they are, they make their place in people’s esteem. To be sure, Ajit Pawar’s career was shadowed by controversy, but he possessed the political smarts to slip through every net and reclaim his seat at the table, irrespective of the ballot box outcomes, high or low.Born in 1959 into the politically dominant Pawar family, Ajit Pawar grew up in the shadow of uncle, Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar, already a mass leader when Ajit was learning the grammar of power. Where Sharad Pawar connected with crowds, Ajit mastered the machinery behind them. He understood numbers, networks, and the mechanics of governance. This networking on the ground, especially on the family turf of Baramati, earned him the record of remaining unbeaten in any election he contested.When his son Parth lost the Lok Sabha election in 2019, a rift opened up between the uncle and nephew. The gap widened with Ajit joining the 72-hour Devendra Fadnavis govt in 2019 and then breaking away from his uncle in 2023.His career was repeatedly interrupted by allegations-irrigation scams, cooperative bank issues, land deals, and the infamous ‘urinate in the dam’ remark that damaged his public image. Each controversy bruised him, but none destroyed him.Despite holding the deputy CM’s post six times and controlling important departments, Ajit Pawar never fully crossed the final threshold, and the CM’s chair remained his unfulfilled dream.He had age on his side. Many supporters argued it was only recently that he had come out of his uncle’s shadow and was on track towards his goal before it was cut short. “I harboured the ambition of becoming the CM, but the ‘yog’ (auspicious moment) has not come yet,” he said.
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Ajit Pawar quit studies before completing his commerce degree. “When I fill the election form, I never identify myself as a graduate,” he said. But he mastered the politics of Maharashtra. His early political grooming came through the cooperatives movement, the backbone of western Maharashtra politics. Sugar factories, district banks, irrigation bodies were not just institutions but power centres. Before he held major ministerial posts, he built a formidable base among farmers, cooperative leaders, and strongmen.Baramati became more than a constituency, it became a political fortress. As he took on more responsibilities in the state, his wife and sons groomed the constituency and campaigned for him. All Ajit had to do was hold a concluding election rally in Baramati, and the deal was done.His electoral debut came in 1991, when he won the Baramati LS seat by a record margin of over 3.36 lakh votes, among the largest in India at the time. In a move that revealed both loyalty and calculation, he resigned from Parliament to allow Sharad Pawar to return to Lok Sabha. That same year, Ajit Pawar won the Baramati assembly seat, a constituency he’d retain for 8 consecutive terms until 2024, often with margins exceeding 1 lakh. In the 2004 assembly polls, NCP emerged the single largest party with 71 seats, while ally Congress won 69. Still, NCP gave up its claim to the CM’s post and demanded key portfolios. This move remained in Ajit’s mind a “missed chance” to get the CM’s seat.Over the next decade, he handled the irrigation and rural development portfolios that define the state’s agrarian economy. He lived up to his image for speeding up works. “I don’t like pending files on my table,” he often said.In 2012, a report alleged irregularities in irrigation projects close to Rs 70,000 crore. Ajit Pawar, who then held the finance and planning portfolios, resigned from the cabinet under pressure. Weeks later, he was reinstated after official explanations and panel findings attributed procedural lapses largely to the bureaucracy.That same period also saw the most damaging moment of his public life. During a drought protest in 2013, Ajit Pawar made an off-the-cuff remark suggesting urinating into a dam would not fill it. The comment sparked outrage and became a shorthand for political insensitivity. He later apologised and called it his biggest mistake, but the damage was lasting. The next turning point came in Nov 2019. In a dramatic early morning development, Ajit joined hands with BJP and was sworn in as deputy CM in Fadnavis’s govt which collapsed within 80 hours, but the episode revealed Pawar’s willingness to gamble politically. He returned as Dy CM a month later in the MVA govt and was its finance minister between 2019 and 2022. In July 2023, he led a vertical split in NCP, joined the BJP-Shiv Sena govt and became Dy CM, taking charge of finance and energy portfolios. But he continued to stand by the Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar ideology. Ajit Pawar’s influence extended into sport. As president of Maharashtra Olympic Association, a post he held for many terms and recently regained, he worked less as a figurehead and more as coordinator, bringing together state federations across disciplines and pushing for structured development. His stewardship of Maharashtra State Kabaddi Association reflected his understanding of rural Maharashtra, where sport and livelihood often intersect. He backed professional pathways without weakening grassroots systems, and his involvement with kho kho and cycling associations ensured that attention was not limited to mainstream games.Ajit Pawar shared an ease with party workers that few can manage. He remembered names, asked about families, and spoke to party workers with familiarity during visits. His speeches were punctuated with sharp, rustic and humorous one-liners that often drew laughter and pulled crowds. Known for his punctuality at events, Ajit Pawar expected the same from officials. In 2023, when he joined hands with the BJP-Shiv Sena, Fadnavis said their triple-engine govt would be 24/7. “Ajit Pawar will work in the morning since he is an early riser. I am on duty from noon to midnight, while throughout the night… you all know who,” he said, referring to Dy CM Eknath Shinde, known to be a night owl. Ajit Pawar also rebranded himself as ‘dada’ (elder brother) of Maharashtra and donned pink hues-pink jackets and turbans-to stand apart from the saffron shades of his Mahayuti allies.The man leaves behind a complicated legacy. He shaped govts, controlled budgets, altered alliances, and influenced the direction of Maharashtra politics for over four decades. Politics tested him for years, through victories, defeats, and controversies, but destiny ended it all in seconds.
